Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on 11 Downing Street (Rates) on 12th January 1988.
Mr. Rooker To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if domestic rates are payable in respect of any part of 11 Downing Street.
Mr. Major [holding answer 11 January 1988]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on Monday 11 January 1988 at column 1.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on the Trade Balance on 12th January 1988.
Sir Brandon Rhys Williams To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will publish estimates of the effect on the trade balance of (a) a reduction in the standard rate of income tax to 25 per cent. and (b) an uprating of child benefit requiring the same increase in purchasing power;
(2) if he will publish an estimate of the effect on the trade balance in a full year of the reduction in the standard rate of income tax to 27 per cent. in 1987–88.
Mr. Major It has not been the practice to publish estimates of the economic effects of changes in tax or benefit rates.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on the North-East Region on 11th January 1988.
Rev. Martin Smyth To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the annual figure for Government subventions, grants and expenditures to the economy of the north-east region of England, indicating the absolute figures, the north-east region contribution and the per capita figure for the population of the United Kingdom as a whole; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Major Apart from expenditure which is the responsibility of the territorial Departments, most public expenditure is planned on a national basis and it is not possible to identify separately expenditure allocated to a particular area.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Public Expenditure on 11th January 1988.
Mr. Butler To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer by how much he now estimates that public expenditure has risen in real terms since 1978–79, including his latest plans for 1988–89.
Mr. Major On the basis of the plans for 1988–89 published in the Autumn Statement, the real increase in general Government expenditure, excluding privatisation proceeds, between 1978–79 and 1988–89 is expected to be 18.6 per cent., representing an average annual increase of 1.7 per cent.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Coulport and Faslane on 11th January 1988.
Mr. McFall To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the amount paid to the local authorities in lieu of rates for RNAD Coulport and Faslane for the years (a) 1983–84, (b) 1984–85 and (c) 1986–87.
Mr. Major The amounts paid were as follows:
PORT | 1983–84 (in £) | 1984–85 (in £) | 1986–87 (in £)
RNAD Coulport | 813,584 | 902,756 | 1,001,896
Clyde Submarine Base, Faslane | 1,510,294 | 1,616,149 | 1,833,932
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Labour Statistics on 18th December 1987.
Mr. Wray Asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his reply of 14 December, Official Report, column 374, how many people in Scotland were working, for each year since 1983, in (a) industrial cleaning, (b) computer services and (c) road haulage.
Mr. Major I regret that the information is only available for 1984, from the census of employment. In September 1984 the number of employees in employment in Scotland in industrial and commercial cleaning services totalled 15,000, in computer services 2,800, and in road haulage 19,400.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Overseas Assets on 18th December 1987.
Mr. Chris Smith To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, pursuant to the answer of 9 December,Official Report, column 165, he will indicate what information of any kind is available as to the current or recent pound sterling value of British-owned assets held abroad.
Mr. Major Figures for the level of United Kingdom overseas assets at the end of 1986 may be found in the United kingdom balance of payments (Pink Book) 1987 edition. The latest issue of the Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin contains information on United Kingdom banks’ assets overseas as at the end of June 1987. Data on flows of United Kingdom investment overseas during the first three quarters of 1987 were included in the quarterly balance of payments press notice published by the Central Statistical Office on 15 December 1987.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Government Manpower on 17th December 1987.
Mr. Patrick Thompson To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the number of staff in post in central Government Departments at 1 October.
Mr. Major At 1 October 1987 there were 585,070 staff in post in central Government Departments. Of these, 509,133 were non-industrials and 75,937 were industrials.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Nationalised Industries on 17th December 1987.
Mr. Oppenheim To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the accounting policies of nationalised industries in the light of the discussions which have taken place on the report, “Accounting for Economic Costs and Changing Prices”, published in August 1986.
Mr. Major Successive Governments have pointed out the desirability of making due allowance for changing prices in company accounts. This is particularly important in businesses where, as in a number of the nationalised industries, assets are long lived and where rates of return based on historic cost arc inadequate as measures of economic performance.
The nationalised industries have been at the forefront of the application of current cost accounting. The Government have welcomed this and note that some of the industries that have been privatised, in particular those subject to regulation, have decided to maintain current cost accounts. We have noted that the Director General of Telecommunications has proposed that British Telecommunications should publish information on current cost profits.
When the Government published the report of the advisory group, “Accounting for Economic Costs and Changing Prices” they said that sponsor Departments and the Treasury would discuss the general principles described in the report, their merits and their practical application with individual nationalised industries, the nationalised industries’ chairmen’s group and other interested parties. Discussions with the individual industries and with the chairmen’s group have now taken place. There have also been comments by the accountancy bodies and wider discussions.
These discussions have been at a technical level throughout. The majority of corporations have recognised the need to measure economic costs and have indicated ways in which some of the recommendations in the report to that end need modification for practical application. Suggestions have also been made as to how some of the recommendations might he further developed. The discussions have identified certain problems which require further study. They have shown the conditions under which modified historical cost accounts can he used to measure economic performance. These are that in those accounts the revaluations should cover all assets and be regularly updated, and that revalued assets are consistently treated in both the profit and loss account and balance sheet.
The discussions have underlined the importance of the distinction made in the report between industries with a substantial degree of influence over their prices – the “price-makers”; and industries whose prices are determined in competitive markets – the “price-takers”. The Government are satisfied with the outcome of the discussions and do not propose to take any immediate action. The discussions have been useful in confirming that the present accounting policies of nationalised industries go a long way towards the objective of providing measures of economic costs and that some further progress is in prospect. Present accounting policies should be maintained and reviewed in a year or two so that they continue to develop in ways which fulfil this objective.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Privatisation on 16th December 1987.
Mr. Butler To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many employees have been in enterprises transferred from the public to the private sector in the United Kingdom since May 1979.
Mr. Major Around 655,000 employees have been in enterprises transferred from the public to the private sector in the United Kingdom since May 1979.